Match container



Nov. 8, 1955 R. H. WALDEN 2,723,045

MATCH CONTAINER Filed March 26, 1954 IN V EN TOR.

R07 H. WALOF United States Patent MATCH CONTAINER Roy H. Walden, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application March 26, 1954, Serial No. 418,923

1 Claim. (Cl. 22032) This invention relates to a match container and has for its primary object to safely support matches for transportation and use.

Another object is to facilitate the selection of an individal match from the container and to guard against fire hazard during the striking of the match.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this invention which embodies among its features an elongated tubular body having a notch extending therethrough and opening through one end thereof, a bottom closing the end of the body remote from the notch and carrying a match striking compound on the side thereof remote from the body, a cover mounted in the body for movement adjacent the end thereof remote from the bottom about a transverse axis which intersects the longitudinal axis of the body from a closed position in which it lies within and extends parallel to the adjacent end of the body to an open position in which it lies oblique to the adjacent end of the body, and a tongue carried by the cover and extending outwardly therefrom beyond the periphery thereof for entering the notch and arresting movement of the cover in one direction.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a match container embodying the features of this invention and showing the cover thereof in closed position;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing the striking compound on the bottom of the container;

Figure 3 is a perspective view similar to Figure 1, showing the cover in open position and a portion of the tubular body broken away; and

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a tubular body designated generally comprises a cylinder 12 carrying a notch 14 extending therethrough and opening through one end thereof. A bottom 16 closes the end of the body 12 remote from the notched end thereof and is provided on its face remote from the body 12 with a match striking compound 18 of known composition.

Extending through the body 12 adjacent the notched end thereof along an axis which extends transversely through the body and intersects the longitudinal axis of the body are pivot pins 20 upon which is mounted 6 for oscillation about the transverse axis a cover desig- 2,723,045 Patented Nov. 8, 1955 nated generally 22. The cover 22 comprises a disc 24 of suitable material having a diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the tubular body 12 and carried by the disc 24 and extending outwardly from the periphery thereof is a tongue 26 which, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, is adapted to enter the notch 14 to limit movement of the disc in one direction when it is in closing relation to the end of the body 12 remote from the bottom 16.

In use, it will be understood that matches M (Fig. 3) are introduced into the body 12 during or after the manufacture thereof. When it is desired to extract a match from the device, the article is held in the hand in a position in which the thumb may be employed to engage the tongle 26 and tilt the cover 22 to open position and upon tipping the device with the forefinger resting on the cover and shaking slightly a single match may be extracted from the container and by holding the match holder between the thumb and second finger with the forefinger extending across the cover, the match may be ignited by being struck on the striking surface 18. Obviously, the other matches in the group enclosed within the container will be protected from danger of accidental ignition and hence the fire hazard will be greatly reduced while at the same time the matches are held for convenient use.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and de scribed the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

A match container comprising an elongated circular cylindrical tubular body having a notch extending through its wall and opening through one end thereof, a bottom closing the end of the body remote from the notch and carrying a match striking compound on the side thereof remote from the body, a cover mounted in the body for movement adjacent the end thereof remote from the bottom about a transverse axis which intersects the longitudinal axis of the body from a closed position in which it lies flush with and extends parallel to the adjacent end of the body to an open position in which it lies oblique to the adjacent end of the body, and a tongue carried by the cover and extending outwardly therefrom beyond the periphery thereof for entering the notch and arresting movement of the cover in one direction when it lies flush with the adjacent end of the body and to define a thumb piece for engagement by the thumb of the user when it is desired to move the cover to open position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,420,391 Sweet June 20, 1922 1,759,751 Kovacs May 20, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS 72,030 Switzerland Sept. 1, 1916 526,490 Great Britain Sept. 19, 1940 

